The Blue Machine: How the Ocean Works

About this book

A Financial Times Best Science Book of 2023 A scientists exploration of the "ocean engine"the physics behind the oceans systemsand why it matters. All of Earths oceans from the equator to the poles are a single engine powered by sunlight driving huge flows of energy water life and raw materials. In The Blue Machine physicist and oceanographer Helen Czerski illustrates the mechanisms behind this defining feature of our planet voyaging from the depths of the ocean floor to tropical coral reefs estuaries that feed into shallow coastal seas and Arctic ice floes. Through stories of history culture and animals she explains how water temperature salinity gravity and the movement of Earths tectonic plates all interact in a complex dance supporting life at the smallest scaleplanktonand the largestgiant sea turtles whales humankind. From the ancient Polynesians who navigated the Pacific by reading the waves to permanent residents of the deep such as the Greenland shark that can live for hundreds of years she introduces the messengers passengers and voyagers that rely on interlinked systems of vast currents invisible ocean walls and underwater waterfalls. Most important however Czerski reveals that while the ocean engine has sustained us for thousands of years today it is faced with urgent threats. By understanding how the ocean works and its essential role in our global system we can learn how to protect our blue machine. Timely elegant and passionately argued The Blue Machine presents a fresh perspective on what it means to be a citizen of an ocean planet.